House Passes Bill for Permanent Daylight Saving Time

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act on Tuesday by a vote of 308-117. The legislation would establish daylight saving time as the permanent standard time nationwide and eliminate the twice-yearly clock adjustments practiced in most states.

Ninety-five Democrats supported the measure while 22 Republicans opposed it. The bill allows states to opt out if they act before the federal law takes effect. Nineteen states have already enacted laws permitting year-round daylight saving time once Congress authorizes the change.

Daylight saving time is the practice of setting clocks forward an hour from March through November to gain more sunlight during the summer months. First enacted as a fuel cost-saving measure during World War I, daylight saving time eventually became federal law under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, according to the Department of Transportation.

Congress has considered permanent daylight saving time in the past, even enacting it at one point in the 1970s. In 1973, Congress passed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act, which required permanent daylight saving time for a two-year trial period through April 1975.

The experiment came under criticism from parents of school-aged children and construction industry workers, who were not fond of the early morning darkness. Public approval for the law dropped from 79% in December 1973 to 42% in February 1974, according to The New York Times.

The law was repealed in 1975, before the trial period was up.

Lawmakers have, over the years, pushed for permanent daylight saving time, though none of their efforts have been successful. Most recently, in 2022, the Senate approved a bill for permanent daylight saving time, but the measure died in the House. The legislation now advances to the Senate.

Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso stated that the daylight saving time measure would not be able to pass by unanimous consent. President Trump posted on Truth Social that the legislation addresses the hundreds of millions of dollars spent annually on changing clocks and said he would work to see the Sunshine Protection Act signed into law.